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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

NJSCBWI Conference - My Experience

After I posted the conference recommended books, Romelle
commented she couldn't wait to hear about the rest of my experience. *winces*
You see, my plan was to put the book list out there and then not have to
actually share anything else about the conference. Without any big news (y'know, like an agent
or a contract) I wasn't sure my conference experience was anything other than pretty standard:

- I learned a ton from excellent presentations,

- I met agents and editors which is a million times better
than their online bios,

- I saw old writing friends and made new friends,

- I ate a lot of cheesecake.

Yep, pretty standard really.
But I guess I can be brave and share my other experiences.

I had a manuscript critique with an editor. She gave me an
excellent critique which was well worth the money. Then she asked about me (isn't that so nice
when people do that?) which of course I wasn't prepared for. (Funny, I'm pretty close with myself, but
it's always so hard to talk about me.) She also asked if I had an agent. Perhaps she
was making polite conversation, but I heard "You should get an
agent!" So that was nice. But the best part: an actual quote in her
critique: "I think poop is
funnier than poo." She gets me.
She really gets me!

(by Billy Frank Alexander via freeimages.com)

I pitched to an agent for the first time, which was not
nearly as scary as I expected. (It was Jill
Corcoran, who is really kind of awesome. She should just put that in her bio.).
After the pitch, she asked if I had the manuscript with me (I did!) She read
the whole thing right there (it's a pb, so it only took 1 minute of the 4 allotted minutes.)
And she offered a helpful suggestion to amp it up. So that was a pretty solid
way to spend a few minutes.

Unfortunately, I spent the next minute picking up all the
papers I dumped out of a folder while attempting to smoothly extract my
manuscript. She didn't seem to mind. Oh and when I got home that night I
realized I had worn edgy gold earrings and a dainty silver necklace
all day. (NEVER dress before drinking coffee.) And no one told me. (For future reference, if you see something,
say something!) I like to think my hair was in front of my ears, or perhaps I just
looked like one of those artsy creative types.

I have been revising like crazy. So many poos to update :) I feel really good about some changes I've made, but then again I also felt great after revision 3 and revision 8 and revision 12... so feeling good about revision 16 may not mean anything.

Keep revising!!! I have 91 saved drafts of one that I think is finally ready!!! It's amazing how much a manuscript can grow! Your conference experience sounds wonderful and productive!!! So glad you enjoyed it and shared it on your blog :•) Good luck with that story!

That's what I'm talking about! No sense getting all pumped up about this revision if I have 70 more tries ahead to find the heart of the story. I hope I get better at doing these with fewer drafts, but I guess you can't rush learning.

If an editor says to GET AN AGENT, I'd say that's VERY positive feedback :D :D :D

And as far as embarrassing, my lack of brain function can 'cause me to feel embarrassed 'cause I forget MANY things I should remember, and I think people get insulted when I don't. Seriously, when I'm dealing with a lot of exposures (I'm chemically sensitive), my brain function can be SO inhibited. As a perfect example of how bad, I had a pretty bad "duh" moment at this one when I actually had to ask what I was supposed to do with MY raffle ticket, having seen a tub of stubs on the podium when I was helping Kathy before the Market Report, thinking I was supposed to do something with it. DUH! It's a RAFFLE TICKET! lol You know----keep your coupon to see if the MATE is called! lol Yes, my brain can be THAT bad...

The one thing that sticks out as truly embarrassing, though for only a split second, was a couple of years ago at the Hyatt. I dropped one of my many bags and some of the contents spewed onto the floor. The editor I'd just had a critique with was with me and I can only say I'm grateful it was a woman! lol

And as far as your jewelry, Lauri, I'm sure no one NOticed! They were too busy admiring your pretty face or simply enjoying talking to you to notice a mismatch of jewelry :) But I agree----TELL ME if you see something I need to know about, especially something hanging from my nose or stuck in my teeth! :D

At the last SCBWI event, I was part of a panel. I'm sure I said/did something embarrassing, but I can't elaborate, because I've blocked it all out. Every minute that I was at that table in front of the group is missing from my memories. I imagine this stuff gets easier with practice?? :)Have fun adding P to poo.

Lauri Meyers is a children's writer living part-time in New
Jersey and part-time in the fantasy worlds she builds in her head. She is a member of the SCBWI. She
enjoys laughing until her sides hurt and making other people laugh until
organic milk squirts out of everyone's noses. She left corporate finance due to the infrequency of milk fountains.